geomancer

Thanks for the information everyone. I'll likely not get the package, but maybe a couple here and there and just grab something in port stops for those days.

Yes, that's a copy and paste of the website. So I guess I'll just continue that with a copy and paste of the menu. One is correct, one is not.

I know it's Pepsi products, but specifically which ones? And is it consistent across the ships? (I'll be on the Jewel specifically)

I can only have sugar free and caffeine free, I happened to see on a menu "diet lemon lime soda" which would suggest Diet Sierra Mist but .... all the official verbiage from NCL just has the regular.

Thanks

2 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

$700 was the price with the airfare perk?!?!  Wow 

Yep, technically it's free or reduced airfare. But that reduced claim is very iffy considering airlines haven't even priced out that far in advance. I was using a short notice air booking for this year as a point of comparison.

To be fair, it was an international flight and not domestic, but still. At that price, I'd take a gamble on booking my own or just use my airline points for truly free.

8 minutes ago, travelling_txgal said:

Thanks for the responses. We are considering a balcony or a suite. We received a quote on a balcony in the BX category (not sure what that is yet).

Another question, are there any hidden costs we should expect to incur? We know about gratuity, taxes, insurance, etc. I am meaning more along the lines of food and entertainment. Is it all inclusive or will we pay more for specialty restaurants and events?  

You will pay more for specialty restaurants (quite a lot actually) and some events (but most are free).

There are still free food options, and NCL has a lot more than some other lines (looking at you Royal Caribbean) but as is common on all these lines the specialty restaurants charge full land prices (and sometimes more). It could be said that the included food options have gotten worse over the last decade specifically because of the popularity of these specialty restaurants. What better way to drive people towards them than make the "other" food terrible?

I didn't even get that far :) I looked at a few, and they wanted almost $700 pp. We could book our own flights with a known schedule for that.

Options to pay for things in order of best to worst:

1. Use a no foreign transaction fee credit card
2. Use an ATM with no fees (understand your bank may charge fees in addition to the ATM)
3. Credit card with foreign transaction fees (could be a tie with #2)
4. Local bank (only exception being you need cash the second you set foot in the foreign country before any other option is available or if you need large sums of money and the fees are not percentage based)
5. Foreign Bank
6. Hotel
7. Selecting charge in $USD when paying with a credit/debit card in an attempt to avoid the foreign transaction fee
8. Shady no name kiosk in an alley
9. Random person on the street
10. Airport (ie Travelex)

Options 1 through 3 will give you the market exchange rate, the best you can possibly get. Options 4 and possibly 5 will give you a rate worse than the market rate but not horrible however usually adds a fee. Options 6 through 9 will give you an unfavorable rate, but sometimes you can gamble with that random stranger that they don't know the value of their money compared to the USD... Option 10 will just rake you over the coals, then charge you a fee for the pleasure.

Only from the bars/restaurants, and a very limited selection compared to the Freestyle machines unfortunately. It's too bad. I only drink sugar free & caffeine free myself (I know, I know) but there is nothing available.

20 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

 

That's strange, she went through an extensive dry dock in late 2017 or early 2018.

It was 2018, I completely missed the year when I saw it 

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Boarding in Vancouver, B.C. is slightly different than boarding in the US.  You have to clear Customs in the basement of Canada Place before going upstairs into the boarding area.  From there it is just the same, except that in the Great Hall more than ship may be boarding passengers at the same time.  More than once, I have had computers crash from the overload.

 

In addition to the buffet, one of the Main Dining Rooms, the Local (formerly O'Sheehan's) will be open for lunch.

 

Enjoy your cruise on The Jewel.  She is a great ship with a wonderful staff.

Oh really? I hadn't heard that. Is it US customs similar to a US bound flight?

Also either the ship has recently changed or it has changed since you were on it. They still list it as having O'Sheehan's and the main dinning rooms are Azura and Tsar's Palace. I see it is scheduled for dry dock after this Alaska season though.

Thanks, finally found that post!

I really hope the menus are the same, it looks VASTLY better than our last cruise (RCL Adventure of the Seas) and everyone is very excited. We'll see on the quality of the food, but it wouldn't take much to top the last one either so...

I'll do a more generic search for the kids menu then if all the ships have the same menus.

Appreciate it!

We'll be on the Jewel mid August. I've tried searching around but haven't been able to find much. As I understand it, there are two MDRs on the Jewel and that all seating is freestyle in that you just show up when you want. What's the difference between the two (if any)?

Looking for both the regular menu, and the kid's menu.

There also appears to be two buffets, one indoors and one outdoors. Is there any difference in what's served?

What does "The Pit Stop" have? It's listed under Dinning but looks like just a bar.

Sorry for all the questions, thank you for any information you can point me to!

Hello, just a quick question. Looking over my eDocs and noticed it says boarding isn't until noon, but my slotted arrival time is 9:30-10:00 AM. Departure time is 4 PM.

Is there any point to arriving that early? Standing around in a crowd for 2 hours doesn't sound fun :)

Do you have to arrive in that earlier time slot to have any hope of getting a table at lunch?

Thanks!

Option 7 is certainly the most appealing. Hummm 

We're not opposed to putting in a bit of work, I hadn't even heard of the SkyTrain before. Looking at the map, that looks awfully convenient even with the walk. We have 9:30-10:00 AM slotted for our arrival time, but maybe I'll bump that out an hour to try and avoid some of the rush hour?

Thank you for your post, it was very helpful!

Hello, we'll be staying at a hotel near the airport the day before the cruise. What's the best way to get to the pier in the morning?

Uber/Lyft isn't (yet) allowed.

There are 3 of us (only 1 bag, 3 backpacks). It's the Hampton Inn, so technically located in Richmond but is literally right over the bridge from the airport.

So is a taxi or a car service the way to go?

Is it better to take the hotel shuttle back to the airport to take advantage of any flat rates?

Thanks!

Cost to cruise on Royal has dropped over the years, they did away with lot of things. But you have choice pay more for extras, better meals, a Full Suite on the newer ships. That for about what an Ocean View cabin cost 30yrs ago...

You know, people always say this...

Perhaps 30 years ago, I didn't cruise then, but I could get a balcony 10 years ago for what an inside costs today.

Did we really need to dig up a thread that's over a year old? Especially one full of outdated info?

There is no real reason for them to insist that all in the cabin must buy the package except pure greed. With the refreshment package suddenly jumping from$18 to $26 overnight, the soda package will just have to do.

Reportedly, lots of people were sharing their packages. Either a person getting multiple drinks at the bar then distributing them, or a drinker giving their Freestyle Coke glass to a non-drinker. But yes, the primary reason is more money. It's always about money.

As for the refreshment package price, it (and the booze) package goes on sale often. It isn't marked as a sale, the price just changes. Keep checking and you'll likely see it at that price (or close) again. The soft drink package never goes down in price, only up.

Absolutely wrong

I don't think so. I just looked at both of my current policies for upcoming cruises. They both cover under Trip Cancellation and Interruption "Sickness or Injury of a Family Member not traveling with the insured." It goes on to say it must be "so disabling" to actually cause the cancellation/interruption, which death would certainly qualify for.

I can't speak for Royal's policy, but the two I have are from TravelGuard and Berkshire Hathaway.

Ya know, I've never found anything that disputes the claims and information in his articles. I'm glad we have an industry watchdog like him. If you won't read the articles or verify information, how do you know it is worthless? I've tried to find reasonable counterclaims to what is on his website.

I read that article, and there is pretty much zero facts in there. It's paragraphs and paragraphs of "maybe" "could" "possibly" "might" "guess" "may" and rhetorical questions. It's nothing at all but his opinion. His only "proof" is a quote from a crew member who confirms that back of the house staff also gets a cut of the gratuities. Something that's public knowledge and not hidden.

We always used to tip for room service when it was free but now we were charged $7.95 and were told the tip is included sooooo...

Now it's $7.95 + 18%

Everything has an auto-tip.

If the OBC comes from Royal it should show up right away. If it comes from a TA, I believe that won't show up until you sail.

Nope, I'm not part of the Starbucks crowd. Perhaps a better question is why do you tip a buck at Starbucks to someone that has only spent a minute or two on your drink.

I always shake my head at people who tip baristas yet don't tip fast food. It's the same thing. Those tip jars are everywhere these days. I've even seen them in a tire center, where they charge you $90/hour for labor :rolleyes:

Might want to look into a place you can store your luggage and enjoy the day on Oahu.

The previous sailing arrives at 6 AM so unlikely to be turnaround that is delaying boarding. Maybe they have some minor work planed, or takes longer to provision, or maybe they just don't want people onboard 10 hours before sailing :)

Don't know if this will work, Cruise Critic is extraordinarily archaic in what it allows for pictures.